Offcuts

Tim Richardson
  • 5.0 (4)
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

Offcuts is a podcast and newsletter about commerce, culture and AI.

 We explore how brands grow in a changing landscape. From shifting consumer behaviour to the rise of AI in digital work. It is part founder’s perspective, part field notes from inside the industry. We speak to founders, operators and technologists about what is working, what is changing and what is next. Expect sharp thinking, useful links and the occasional hot take. All grounded in what is actually happening. Not just what is trending.

 Brought to you by the team at Factory: https://www.factory-digital.com/

  1. DEC 16

    Ep 174: Shopify Winter Editions 2026, with Ben Homer Senior Solutions Engineer at Shopify

    In this episode, I sit down with Ben to talk through Shopify's Winter Editions 2025, now that the dust has settled from the initial announcements. Ben walks me through how Shopify approaches AI, both internally and for merchants. Inside the company, everyone has access to an internal LLM proxy and cutting-edge tooling. That same thinking flows out to the platform: help brands show up where customers are, which now includes AI chat interfaces, and make operations faster through better tooling. We spend time on agentic commerce, what it means beyond the buzzword, and why it matters for how people will shop. Ben explains the ideas behind Sidekick's evolution and SimGym, which lets any brand test site changes against Shopify's anonymised consumer dataset before going live. The standout for me is how these features connect. SimGym paired with the new Rollouts feature, which handles scheduling and traffic management, creates something that previously required multiple third-party tools. Ben also flags the POS Hub, Shopify's hardware connectivity layer, as worth watching for anyone thinking about retail. Practical, detailed, and useful if you're building on Shopify or just trying to work out what's worth paying attention to in this release. Checkout Factory here. Sign up to our newsletter here.

    36 min

  2. DEC 2

    Ep 173: Why can’t consumer brands turn AI hype into meaningful value? with Luke Hodgson, co founder of Commerce Thinking & High Cohesion

    In this episode, I sit down with Luke to unpack why consumer brands are still struggling to turn AI hype into real value. We break down the big myths, including the widely shared idea that most AI projects fail and whether that was ever true for this industry. Luke shares insights from more than thirty brand interviews, revealing the same pattern everywhere. Leaders believe AI will reshape operations, but most don’t know where to start, feel overwhelmed by the pace of change, and lack a practical playbook. Public case studies are thin because real experiments are happening quietly inside teams with no time to share them. We dig into the blockers too: vendor over-promising, fragmented tech stacks, unclear budgets, and rising pressure from shareholders to show progress. A straight, honest conversation about where brands really are and what it will take to make AI actually deliver. This podcast is brought to you by Glara.ai - the Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) platform helping ecommerce brands grow through AI search visibility. 👉 Learn more at Glara.ai/offcuts Checkout Factory here. Sign up to our newsletter here.

    34 min

  3. NOV 19

    Ep 172: Is AI actually going to change the world? with Chris Kilin CEO and co-founder at Brandback and Glara.ai

    In this episode, I sit down with Chris Kilin, CEO and co-founder of Brandback and Glara.ai, to explore the disruptive power of AI for consumer commerce. We'll dive into the journey that led him from big consulting to building a start-up, and why he believes AI is creating 'real revenues' in a way Web3 never did. We break down the new AI framework for consumer brands - covering both External AI, like agentic shopping, and Internal AI for efficiency - and discuss how to cut through the noise of the crowded AI search visibility landscape. We also tackle the challenge facing most brands: moving from fragmented experimentation to realising true AI efficiency, and we ask Chris how a brand should spend a £50,000 AI budget for maximum impact. Finally, we look ahead to the next 12 months for the optimistic and pessimistic views on AI’s future, and ask the ultimate question: Is AI actually going to change the world? This podcast is brought to you by Glara.ai - the Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) platform helping ecommerce brands grow through AI search visibility. 👉 Learn more at Glara.ai/offcuts Checkout Factory here. Sign up to our newsletter here.

    32 min

  4. NOV 14

    Ep 171: What AI Really Means for the Future of Commerce with Mac King, CRO & Co founder of Domaine

    On this episode, I’m joined by Mac King, co-founder of Domaine, to talk about how agencies are navigating the next wave of commerce and AI. We catch up on what’s changed since he was last on the podcast, including the merger that created Domaine, their move into the UK market, and how the agency is scaling internationally. Then we get into Domaine’s AI Commerce Suite and what it reveals about how brands are starting to use AI both on-site and behind the scenes. We talk about how agencies can separate real innovation from AI marketing spin, what makes an AI-native tech stack, and how services businesses can balance experimentation with credibility. Finally, we explore how this connects to Factory’s Internal and External AI framework, what each of us is seeing in the market, and where the biggest operational opportunities might appear next. If you’re thinking about where AI actually fits inside a modern commerce organisation, this one’s for you. This podcast is brought to you by Glara.ai - the Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) platform helping ecommerce brands grow through AI search visibility. 👉 Learn more at Glara.ai/offcuts Checkout Factory here. Sign up to our newsletter here.

    39 min

  5. NOV 6

    Ep 170: AI, Retail, and the Rise of Operator Experience - with Luke Hodgson, co founder of Commerce Thinking & High Cohesion

    On this episode, I’m joined again by Luke Hodgson to talk about a shift that’s quietly taking place inside every brand: the move from customer experience to operator experience. We unpack what Luke calls OX2030; his framework for how AI is reshaping the way brands actually run. The idea is simple but big. Over the next decade, the biggest transformation in retail won’t happen on the front end. It will happen behind the scenes, in the systems, workflows and cross-functional teams that keep everything moving. We talk about how AI is flattening hierarchies, what it means for how brands are organised, and why most of the value in automation will come from fixing the low-value work that slows good people down. We also get into how this connects to Factory’s Internal and External AI framing, where the real opportunities live, and what it means for leadership and culture inside consumer brands. If you’re thinking about how AI changes the structure, not just the strategy, of how your business operates, this one’s for you. Enjoy the episode. Checkout Factory here. Sign up to our newsletter here.

    40 min

  6. OCT 22

    Ep 169: Will AEO change the way we search? With Sam Hurley, co founder of NOVOS

    On this episode, I’m asking a question that’s quietly reshaping digital marketing: Will AI change the way we search? I’m joined by Sam Hurley, founder of NOVOS an SEO and AI Search agency. We unpack what’s happening to discovery as AI answers more of our questions for us, and what that means for brands, agencies and search strategies. We talk about how AEO or GEO or AIEO or what ever you call it fits into the mix, how it differs from traditional SEO, and why Google, OpenAI and Perplexity might soon be the new gatekeepers of visibility. We also get into what brands can actually do right now to prepare for AI-native search, and whether this shift is likely to change consumer behaviour forever. If you work in commerce, brand marketing or digital strategy, this episode will help you understand what’s next for search, discovery and visibility in the age of AI. Checkout Factory here. Sign up to our newsletter here.

    37 min

  7. SEP 3

    Ep 168: Is the AI Bubble About to Burst? With Luke Hodgson co founder of Commerce Thinking & High Cohesion

    On this episode, I’m asking a simple question with a very complicated answer. Is the AI bubble about to burst? With Luke Hodgson, co-founder of Commerce Thinking and High Cohesion. We kick things off by reviewing four recent news stories that have fuelled bubble talk, from Mira Murati’s $2 billion raise at Thinking Machines Lab to Palantir’s stock drop and Meta’s AI hiring freeze. Then we dig into the reality. What’s hype, what’s real, and how should brand operators navigate it? Luke and I explore whether the current wave of AI investment is overinflated or just misunderstood. We talk about unit economics, cracks in the AI stack, and how the winners might not be the AI-first startups, but the brands quietly experimenting in the background. We also zoom out. If this is an industrial revolution compressed into a decade, what happens to jobs? How should brands structure their teams? And is there any government on the planet actually ready for what’s coming? If you work in tech or commerce, and you’re trying to make sense of the AI noise, this one’s for you. Depict.ai are on a mission to help shoppers discover the products they love - while giving merchandisers total creative control. Turn keyword searches into real conversations. Help customers explore and uncover more of your catalogue. Merchandisers stay in control of the story. Upgrade your storefront at Depict.ai Checkout Factory here. Sign up to our newsletter here.

    32 min

  8. AUG 28

    Ep 167: Vibe Searching and the Future of Onsite Discovery, with John Tan, CEO of Depict

    On this episode, I’m talking with John Tan (CEO of Depict.ai) about why onsite search is broken, what it will take to fix it, and how Depict is reimagining discovery through AI. We unpack the difference between onsite search and traditional search, and explore why it’s time for ecommerce to move beyond the basic grid. John shares his vision for a more conversational, more emotionally resonant way to browse, what he calls “vibe searching”. Less keyword filtering. More: “I’m going to a wedding in Tuscany next month. What should I wear?” We also talk about how this kind of interaction could change how websites are built, how merchandising is done, and what consumers expect from brand experiences. And we look at the broader AI landscape. What’s real, what’s hype, and whether the house of cards can hold. If you’re working in ecommerce and thinking about the future of CX, conversion and what shoppers really want, this one’s for you. Depict.ai are on a mission to help shoppers discover the products they love - while giving merchandisers total creative control. Turn keyword searches into real conversations. Help customers explore and uncover more of your catalogue. Merchandisers stay in control of the story. Upgrade your storefront at Depict.ai Checkout Factory here. Sign up to our newsletter here.

    33 min
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Trailer

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

Offcuts is a podcast and newsletter about commerce, culture and AI.

 We explore how brands grow in a changing landscape. From shifting consumer behaviour to the rise of AI in digital work. It is part founder’s perspective, part field notes from inside the industry. We speak to founders, operators and technologists about what is working, what is changing and what is next. Expect sharp thinking, useful links and the occasional hot take. All grounded in what is actually happening. Not just what is trending.

 Brought to you by the team at Factory: https://www.factory-digital.com/

Information

  • Creator
    Tim Richardson
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2025
  • Episodes
    178
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Tim Richardson
  • Show Website
    Offcuts

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